New York Vape Crackdown Ultimately Harms Adults

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Key Points:

• Major Crackdown: Gov. Kathy Hochul announces “Operation Vapers’ Dozen,” New York’s largest vape enforcement action – 12 distributors targeted, 38 charges filed.

• Legal Context: Action follows the state’s 2020 flavor ban, which grew out of years of NYC and state restrictions, including Cuomo’s 2019 emergency order.

• Youth Data: Nationally, youth vaping at decade low; in NY (outside NYC) high school use dropped from 18 percent in 2019 to 13.5 percent in 2023. Neighboring states without bans saw even sharper declines.

• Adult Trends: Young adult smoking briefly rose after the ban, before hitting a record low of 3.4 percent in 2023; adult vaping has risen 49 percent since 2016, with 952,000 users in 2023.

• Policy Consequences: Ban fuels out-of-state purchases and black-market sales while cutting tax revenue and burdening enforcement.

• Harm Reduction Evidence: Flavors are key to helping smokers quit – nearly two-thirds of adult vapers started with non-tobacco flavors, and studies link flavors to higher quit success.

• Takeaway: Crackdowns waste resources; NY should shift toward regulated harm reduction that protects youth without punishing adults moving away from cigarettes.

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On September 3, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced what she described as the largest criminal vape enforcement action in state history, with more than a dozen individuals arrested and 38 criminal charges filed as part of “Operation Vapers’ Dozen.” Conducted with the Department of Health and State Police, the months-long investigation targeted online sellers and distributors operating across the state.

Though billed as a public health victory, the crackdown is another example of the punitive approach New York has taken since adopting its ban on flavored vapor products in 2020. It reflects continued alarmism around tobacco harm reduction products, even as youth vaping has fallen to a decade low while hundreds of thousands of adults turn to e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking.

The latest investigation identified 12 online distributors and several brick-and-mortar businesses stretching from New York City and Long Island to the Capital Region, Mohawk Valley, Central New York, and Western New York. Defendants were charged with Unlawful Shipment and Transport of Vapor Products, a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense, with repeat violations carrying potential felony charges. The alleged infractions included sales to those under 21, the retail sale of flavored vapes, and unlawful online shipments. State officials noted that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and more arrests are expected.

This was not the first time New York authorities acted under the state’s flavor ban. In January, the Department of Health announced the first-ever arrest under the 2020 law, when an Auburn vape shop owner was charged for mailing e-liquids. That law itself grew out of years of escalating restrictions. New York City first moved in 2009 against flavored tobacco products, then expanded the policy in 2019 with Local Law 228 to cover e-cigarettes.

At the state level, lawmakers introduced bills in 2017 and 2019 to ban flavored e-liquids, and in September 2019 then-Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an emergency order banning flavored vapes in response to the outbreak of lung illnesses, which were later tied primarily to illicit THC products. That order was immediately challenged in court and blocked by an appellate court, so it was never enforced statewide. The following year, the FY 2020-21 budget enacted a permanent ban on flavored e-cigarettes, prohibited the sale of tobacco and vapor products in pharmacies, and imposed shipping restrictions. The law took effect May 18, 2020.

These measures were promoted as ways to address youth vaping, yet data show a different reality. According to the CDC, youth vaping nationally is at a ten-year low regardless of state bans. In New York outside of New York City, 13.5 percent of high school students reported current e-cigarette use in 2023, down from 18 percent in 2019. Neighboring states that did not enact flavor bans have seen even sharper declines: Pennsylvania’s youth vaping fell by more than a third between 2019 and 2023, while Connecticut recorded a drop of more than half.

Meanwhile, New York’s policies appear to have had unintended consequences. After the flavor ban took effect, young adult smoking briefly ticked up. In 2020, 5.5 percent of New Yorkers aged 18 to 24 smoked cigarettes, rising to 6.2 percent in 2021 before falling to a record low of 3.4 percent in 2023. Among adults overall, vaping continues to rise: in 2023, more than 952,000 New Yorkers reported current e-cigarette use, nearly 49 percent more than in 2016. With flavors banned, many rely on out-of-state purchases or the black market.

The evidence is clear that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than combustible cigarettes, and the FDA has authorized more than two dozen products as appropriate for the protection of public health. Other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, openly promote vaping as a tool for smokers. Flavors are central to this transition. National survey data show that nearly two-thirds of adult vapers used non-tobacco flavors when they started, and multiple studies have found that flavored e-cigarettes improve quit success and help prevent relapse to smoking.

New York’s flavor ban no longer reflects the reality of youth vaping or adult use. It deprives the state of tax revenue, drives consumers to unregulated products, and wastes public funds on chasing sellers rather than fostering a regulated harm reduction marketplace. A smarter approach would recognize the role flavored e-cigarettes play in helping smokers quit and create a system that protects youth without punishing adults who are trying to move away from combustible tobacco.

Nothing in this analysis is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101.